The Centre d’hébergement de LaSalle recently added a Snoezelen room. This addition tangibly improves the care and services to the seniors living there. But what exactly is aSnoezelen room?
Snoezelen is a method developed in the Netherlands in 1974 by a music therapist and an occupational therapist. The word Snoezelen is a contraction of two Dutch words: doezelen (dozing) and snueffelen (sniffing or smelling). It’s a non-medicinal therapeutic approach using a multi-sensory room that contains tactile, visual, auditory, and olfactory elements that are likely to appeal to its users. It promotes feelings of calm and relaxation, helps with verbal and non-verbal communication, and stimulates sensory and emotional memories.
Some of the Ways Residents Benefit
- Access to a calm, safe, and comfortable environment to help them relax;
- Creating a trusting relationship with a properly trained worker;
- Increased communication with the worker;
- Fewer behavioural issues (such as agitation, verbal or physical aggression, and anxiety);
- Improved mood;
- A feeling of pleasure.
“We had a room like this when I was working at Ste. Anne’s Hospital, so I’m delighted with the efforts that have been made over the past year to make this project a reality at our facility,” says Ngoc Tran, the site manager at the Centre d’hébergement de LaSalle.
“The residents are very enthusiastic, so it’s clear that we needed this type of a space. A number of residents have told me that spending time in this setting goes them a lot of good,” adds Micheline Béland, president of the CIUISSS Users’ Committee.
The residents can use the room at least twice a week together with a properly trained worker. Residents who are sufficiently autonomous can also use the room alone or with a family member if the room is available. Use of the room is being logged, and a first assessment of this approach’s benefits will be done in the spring of 2024.
Congratulations to everyone who helped deliver this project!
Photo 1 There was a great deal of excitement in the entrance hall of the centre d’hébergement de LaSalle, as residents, family members and employees prepared to visit this multisensory room.
Photo 2 Micheline Béland, President of the CIUSSS’ Users Committee had the honour of cutting the ribbon, as Meriem Cherouati and Solaleh Amini (foreground), recreation technicians, look on.
Photo 3 In front, Ngoc Tran poses with resident Réal Chamberlaine. In the back are Solaleh Amini and resident Lise Pilon.
Photo 4 Micheline Béland checks that resident Lise Pilon is comfortable in a rocking chair, with a mechanical cat and fibre-optic lighting.
Photo 5 Beneficiary attendant Celik Periham uses various objects as sensory stimuli with Perette Béliveau.